Friday, May 11, 2012

The Sleeping Genius



This TIME magazine article explores the sleeping mind.  More specifically it looks at how the mind functions when the operator is on stand-by.  It shows that the mind does some of its most creative thinking while it is asleep.  This is thought to be because the unconscious mind has lowered levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.  This stress hormone makes people forget many of the things which they subconsciously think about.  This is because the cortisol will break up many of the memories that are being created during our waking hours.  Thus when the mind is asleep, the lowered levels of cortisol make it possible for the brain to piece the picture back together and create a whole memory or idea.  Therefore, during our conscious hours, because we are more stressed, we are less able to be creative.  But this may come as bad news to many college students studying a creative field.  This means that in order to be the most creative one can be, it is imperative that one gets enough sleep every night.  Sorry for those of you who love to pull all-nighters.  This is yet another reason why it is extremely important for everyone to get a good amount of sleep every night.

No comments:

Post a Comment